Technical Wtiting

Technical writing
Jung-Su Kim
kim@ist.uni-stuttgart.de
Pfaffenwalding 9, Room 3.237
IST, Univ. of Stuttgart
ResearchMethodsinEng.,2006
IST,Univ.ofStuttgart
2
Outline
Technical writing
Writing steps and rules for each step
Preparing and organizing
Composing
Revision
Examples of writing
Thesis
Proposal
3
Technical writing(TW)
Writing: presentation using text
Writing vs oral presentation
Rom vs ram
Time
Face-to-face
Writing writing sentences
Technical writing = to write research report
Technical writing
to structure information using both text and design
to achieve an intended purpose for a clearly
defined audience(Handbook of T.W., 7
th
ed.)
4
Technical writing:
research reports
Goals:
to tell others what you found and how you found it
(i.e. a record of the research process, not just a
summary of findings)
to give others the benefit of your experience
(also negative experience!)
to give an indication of where researchers might go next.
Types of reports:
books
full-length papers(focus on this)
conference papers, short communiques, letters to editor etc.
in house reports
manuals

5
Technical writing
Research reports
Should be succinct and formal
(i.e. say a lot in a few words)
Be professional and serious
Aim at objective, accuracy, and clearness
Two properties of TW
Natural language
Mathematical languages
6
Elements of good TW
Thoughtfulness
result on second thoughts
persuasive and economical in both words and structure
Correctness
grammar, punctuation, spelling, and proper syntax
Appropriateness
must have the right tone and avoid verbosity
Readability
text flows smoothly, reader can tell where a paragraph is heading,
summaries can be used to assist reader to digest a chapter
7
Writing steps
Preparing
Organizing
Composing
Revising
Similar to that of oral presentation
8
Preparing and organizing
Access reader
Writing goal
Keep main points in mind
Organizing: making an outline
9
Outline
make story line: logically efficient order
Message 1
Support 1-1 for MSG 1
Support 1-2 for MSG 1
Sub-support 1-2-1
Sub-support 1-2-2
Message 2

Message n
1. Select points
2. Writing outline
10
Organizing the contents
Making basic units
Organizing the units
Tell them structure
Arguments should be placed close to where they are used
Logical and efficient order
Write outline
11
Composing-I
Composing
Getting ideas onto paper
Paragraphs, sentences(next lecture)
Notation
Consistent and suggestive
Avoid unnecessary notation
Sentence
Consistent and simple structure
Clearness
Examples and counter examples
12
Composing-II
How to cite
In text: [3], Maier 1993, MaNu97a,
In reference list: different types of pubs; give complete infor
mation (incl. pages, year, publisher, no abbreviations, )
Formulas
Should be treated as regular text (punctuation)
Equation number
Figures/Tables
Better than a thousand words
Always use meaningful captions
Explain figure
Denote the meaning of the axes
13
Revising
Read the draft after some time since the first writing
Read the draft as if it is written by other
Proofread
Read for cohesion, logic, and comprehension
Whether it reflects your intention
Check citations
Read with one rule at a time(grammer, flow, )
Get someone to read for you
Plan on rewriting 3 or 4 times
14
General structure of the report-I
Title page
include a meaningful title, your name, affiliation
Abstract or executive summary
Introduction
Problem statement(pinpoint the problem)
Significance of the information goal and this study
Relation to other issues
Purpose of the study relative to problem
Sources in bibliographic citation
Critique, review, and summary of related research (synthesize)
15
General structure of the report-II: main part
Partition into sections and subsections
Results and Implications
Assumptions and definitions
Theorems, simulations, experiments,
Interpretations of your results
Limitations on your results
Method - State and describe your research methods.
Discussion and/or Recommendations (may be part of
results & implications)
Generalization and abstraction from your results
Recommendations for applying the results and findings
16
General structure of the report-III
Conclusions
Summary of report
Suggestions for the next step
(Acknowledgements)
References
(Info about authors)
17
Thesis writing
Very similar to report writing
However, one additional implicit goal:
You want to prove that you are able to perform good research
Thesis may be longer than research report
Semester and diploma thesis: not more than 40 pages
Dissertation: not more than 150 pages
Thesis should have more tutorial value than report
Starting point for next student
Self-sufficient manner
18
Proposal writing-I
Something about will do
(paper: something about done)
Specific and few readers
Particular objective(to receive readers interests)
Business need
Practical value
Theoretical progress
19
Proposal writing-II
Describe your ideas, motivation, and advantages
(Pay more attention to this than other writing)
Advertising yourself
show that
You(your group) are expert
You(your group) already achieved something related
You(your group) has appropriate resources
(man & equipment, etc.)
One page proposal
Generally, managers are very busy
Simple and compact proposal or progress report
20
Comments
Bad thinking never produce good writing(Lamport)
Good writing promotes good thinking
Writing makes an exact man(Bacon)
References
The elements of style, 4
th
Ed., W. Strunk and E.B. White,
Allyn and Bacon
Writing smart, 2
nd
Ed., Marcia Lerner, The princeton review
Handbook of technical writing, 7
th
Ed., G.J. Alred et. Al., St.
Martins press
The one page proposal, P. G. Riley, HarperCollins
Ten simple rules for mathematical writing, Dimitri Bertsekas,
M.I.T.

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